Field Irrigation System, 4th September 2024

I have heard it said that Suffolk is the driest county in England (although I have not found any concrete evidence to back this claim up). Trying to grow crops in a dry climate will require irrigation of some kind, and with any farm machinery comes interesting sounds and rhythms. Enter the Briggs Irrigation Hosereel, Mounted Booms and Roto Rainer. This equipment can often be found snaking across fields, irrigating crops without the need for human operation. They deliciously spray, hiss and drip water from the boom end whilst the hosereel drones, ticks and whirs as it winds and coils the thick black pipe back on the reel. Capturing the sounds of modern farming around the village has been hit and miss this year. We were on holiday when the main harvesting was completed meaning that I failed to record any combine harvesters, so it was nice to record this machinery in action. Just before 3pm I positioned my gear around 30 metres from the equipment, hit record and listened to how the system affected the soundscape. Being in quite an open area of arable land, the wind was whipping over the field and a few birds could be heard in the nearby hedges. The area is a popular hunting ground for a few kestrels, although I didn’t see any on this day. This episode was made possible through funding from Arts Council England through their Developing Your Creative Practice grant.